Although I don't live in the Portland area I have been wondering how the vote to put fluoride in their water will turn out. Call me paranoid but it seems like there is a hidden agenda behind the measure. #1 Not many people drink straight tap water,so all the advertising pushing that aspect of the campaign pretty much means zip. #2 Most toothpaste contains fluoride,however if you read the instructions it cautions you to not swallow it. #3 Does fluoride really help fight tooth decay (I know what the claims are,but why is it needed in the water supply,when there are other ways to introduce it)? I grew up on well water with no additives,I had the usual amount of cavities any child did,my brother however was cavity free up until the time he left home.
Who is the money behind the extensive advertising? And why do they think the people of Portland will vote for adding something to the water (at the cost of $7.6 million) when the trend is to filter things out of the drinking water or buying pure water? The supporters claim it is to protect underprivileged kids from tooth decay making them sound concerned and righteous,but maybe the money would be better spent on a program to supply instruction on dental care and toothbrushes to provide the children with the tools to use that information. After tomorrow we will know their decision.
Who is the money behind the extensive advertising? And why do they think the people of Portland will vote for adding something to the water (at the cost of $7.6 million) when the trend is to filter things out of the drinking water or buying pure water? The supporters claim it is to protect underprivileged kids from tooth decay making them sound concerned and righteous,but maybe the money would be better spent on a program to supply instruction on dental care and toothbrushes to provide the children with the tools to use that information. After tomorrow we will know their decision.
The dilemma facing non-water fluoridated Portland as well most low-income Americans in fluoridated communities is lack of dental care. The remedy isn't more fluoride because the CDC already reports American children are grossly over-fluoridated.
ReplyDeleteThe solution is to allow Dental Therapists to work in mouths and areas where dentists refuse to go. 80% of dentists refuse Medicaid patients. 130 million Americans don't have dental insurance. Many with insurance can't afford dentistry's out of pocket expenses. Sometimes dental insurance is a joke and will only repay you what you have paid for it.
When Missions of Mercy pop up in fluoridated cities, the people who line up have such poor oral health that their mouths resembles that of those in third world countries.l
Organized dentistry lobbies long and hard, with its pockets full of corporate cash, to disallow DTs to do the work dentists refuse to do. Dentists want to hold onto their lucrative monopoly.
Meanwhile studies show that DTs need much less education, will cost less and have done excellent work in other developed countries for decades.
Fluoridation is just an illusion that dentists care about the low income people who aren't welcomed in their dental chairs.